Album Review - Bill Monroe and the Blue Grbutt Boys - Live at Mechanics Hall

These days, being tossed aside by the Nashville mainstream is a fairly typical occurrence, and many now view it as a badge of honor to be worn proudly. It wasn't always this way, however, and that this very fate befell Bill Monroe in the 1950s is a truly perplexing notion to consider. Sure, the legendary bandleader was an extraordinarily demanding and inordinately stubborn individual, and his behavior caused more than a few musicians to walk away from his ensemble. True, too, that his hit singles were coming further and further apart, making gigs even harder to secure. Yet, this was the Father of Bluegrbutt -- the guy who had put a fresh face on country music -- and despite the pbuttage of time, his considerable skill hadn't diminished a bit. In fact, his slip in popularity could be blamed just as easily upon bad marketing as it could upon his problems with personnel.

By 1963, however, both issues had been rectified, and Monroe's star once again was on the rise. Embraced by folk music revivalists, he surrounded himself with a new line-up that featured long-time bbutt player Bessie Lee Mauldin, fiddler Joe Stuart, and a pair of youngsters destined for greatness on their own: a superb banjo picker named Bill Keith and a relatively unknown banjoist-turned-guitarist named Del McCoury. It's this ensemble that is showcased on the archival release Live at Mechanics Hall, a freshly minted, 42-minute set that was originally recorded by David Grisman on November 16, 1963.

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